


Armistice

by flightinflame



Series: The Genoshan Prince [1]
Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Captivity, Disabled Character, Erik Logic Is The Best Logic, Genosha, Hostage Situations, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutant Suppression, Poor Charles, Protective Erik, Telepathy, sequel contains slowburn Cherik
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-06-25 14:41:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19747810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flightinflame/pseuds/flightinflame
Summary: Westchester has fallen to Genosha, and the Genoshan ruler, Erik Lehnsherr, demands that the mutants from the kingdom are handed over to him.Charles, taken from his homeland, tries to care for a group of prisoners and children - hoping that if nothing else they'll survive until they reach Lehnsherr's kingdom. After that, he has no idea what their future will hold.Charles isn't expecting mercy, but that is what he finds.





	Armistice

**Author's Note:**

> Huge thanks to Lynds, SHA and Lourdes for supporting me on this.  
> For "undeserved reputation" on my hurt/comfort bingo card.  
> I already have 12k of a sequel written, so there will definitely be more in this 'verse.  
> Comments always gratefully received.  
> The Genoshan here is Esperanto because I didn't want to invent a new language when there's a perfectly good one already there.

The bracelets that the Genoshans were wearing caught the light as they walked into the hall. Charles couldn’t help noticing, ever-aware of the weight of the collar around his own throat. He shared his stepfather's surprise that they were willing to agree to have their powers bound, however temporarily. He wondered if he could persuade Marko to allow him a bracelet instead, something that would make his status as little more than a slave less obvious. He'd been born a prince, and raised one until his father's death and mother's remarriage, and now he was a prisoner. A mutant, in a land which hated them. A land which had been defeated by a ragtag mutant army.

The Genoshans were victorious. Charles had been kept back from the battlefields - his weakness a hindrance in a fight - but from what he had seen it was a miracle any of his stepfather's soldiers had survived. He'd heard rumours, of course, that the Genoshans embraced their abilities, but knowing that and seeing it were two very different things. He wondered what it might have been like, if he'd had the fortune of growing up in what sounded like a paradise, rather than here where first his father then stepfather had sought to control him and what he could do. It was all meaningless anyway. 

The Genoshan group was small, compared to his stepfather's ranked officials, but it was clear who held the power here. They strode in unarmed, laughing and talking to each other in their own language, and then stopping. Charles could see the reluctance of his stepfather to bow, but he did it. Charles couldn't keep his eyes from the group. He could see their difference, and they didn't hide it, two of them visibly not-human. 

Even their clothes were different, showing the tribes they originally hailed from. There was the man who looked like a demon in a tunic from the North, stood beside a beautiful woman whose robes clung to her body like silk. The other woman in the party had pure white hair and a cloak attached to her dress. She stood beside a gruff looking man who was heavily tattooed. The four of them examined the area, before the woman in the silken robes walked out, returning after a moment with the Genoshan ruler. 

Charles couldn't help glancing at him. The man was not more than a handful of years older than himself, barely thirty, but what was visible of him was scarred and painted, his chest bare and a red cape fastened across his shoulders. His arms from elbow to wrist were covered in ornate metal vambraces of silver and gold.

This was Erik Lehnsherr. Magneto. A symbol of freedom for all mutants, whether they allowed themselves to want it or not.

For a moment, Charles was transfixed, until he noticed the young man in the ruler’s shadow, dressed in a white tunic which highlighted his dark blue skin, covered in ornamental scars. He couldn't have been older than fifteen. Raven gasped at the sight of a child here, a mutant that looked like the form she concealed, before stepping back a little among the rest of the servants. The boy had a tail which twitched nervously, wrapping around his leg as he looked around then back at the floor, moving a little closer to the ruler.

His stepfather stepped forwards.  
"You said you'd all be wearing the bracelets."  
"My generals are," the ruler spoke, and his accent was softer than Charles had expected. "You cannot expect me to-"  
"The boy-" his stepfather protested, and the Genoshan lord laughed in his face.  
"There's nothing to suppress. His mutation makes him pretty, nothing else." He ruffled the boy's hair, and then took his seat at the table, the youth kneeling beside him. 

Charles felt revulsion when he saw the way the ruler's foot rested against the boy's leg, his hand resting on the boy's shoulder whenever he wasn't using it for gesturing. He knew that people said that this ruler, Erik Lehnsherr, had been in that boy's position once, before he'd killed the old king. If it was true, it certainly hadn't made him more merciful.

But then, this was no time for mercy. His stepfather had been forced to surrender without conditions, and whatever was asked for had to be given for fear of losing the life of every person within the land.

Charles wondered if things could have ever fallen differently, if his stepfather had listened to his pleas to seek peace. It didn't matter now. They'd been defeated, and that was all there was to it.

The Genoshan ruler stared around the room, his gaze seeming to see into everyone. The woman in the silks sat beside him, the other three surrounding them as the treaty was hammered out. Charles focused on watching the generals - the woman with white hair, she matched the description of the one who had floated above the battlefield, called down lightning like the gods. His heart raced at the thought of flight. 

He focused again when he realised that his stepfather was looking at him.  
"You can't be serious," Marko muttered.  
"I believed you surrendered unconditionally?" the ruler asked, leaning and whispering softly to the boy in a different language - not Genoshan, something else. He seemed more occupied with fussing at the youth that served as his pet than engaging in the negotiations that were ongoing. "I wish for all of your mutants to be handed over to swell the ranks of my army."

"Your army has no need for a cripple," Marko pointed out, and Charles cringed, his arms wrapping around himself. "He can barely walk."  
"I don't need him to walk. He's a prince, he has value to your people. I want him." The ruler answered, and Charles looked down, mortified. 

He remembered Cain's teasing threats when they were younger, before he'd fallen in a desperate attempt to get away from his stepbrother. He remembered being in too much pain to stay in his own head, catching a glimpse of his crumpled body from Cain's eyes, feeling his disgust. Remembered his mother turning away as the cooks helped him relearn to eat, as the maids taught him to walk down the corridors, leaning on the walls and pushing one foot in front of the other before collapsing to the ground.

It was then that he felt something pushing against the front of his mind, a vague pressure that made him rub his forehead. It took him a moment to realise someone was trying to communicate with him. He glanced at the boy on his knees beside the ruler, but the boy wasn't looking at him. The woman in silks was, and she smiled at him. He glanced down at her wrist, and he saw that the band was gone. He blinked, and it was back. An illusion then, on her at least. 

He took a deep breath, lowering a few of his shields. They were just the scraps he could maintain even wearing his hated collar, but it was still hard to let them go. Her voice was gentle.  
_Hello sugar._  
He… Hello? Charles tried, making sure he wasn't visibly behaving differently.  
_Are you a telepath? Your shields are pretty strong darling, I've been knocking since we walked in._

Charles shrugged slightly, before reminding himself he had to keep their conversation entirely mental. It had been years since he'd had the chance to do this, it was hard to remember what to do.  
_Telepath, yes. But I... Not for five years._ A wave of sadness that wasn't his own washed through him, and then a moment later it faded, and then she was reaching for the ruler's hand, nuzzling into his side, and Charles didn't need to be a telepath to realise that most of the men there were envying him having her beauty at his disposal. 

The ruler shrugged. "If you aren't willing to listen to my terms, then we can leave. I will make sure that the troops know not to hold back next time."

Marko frowned, looking at the crowd opposite him and coming to the same conclusion Charles had drawn weeks before. There was no way for the humans to win this particular fight. The telepath was smiling towards Charles still, but he couldn't bring himself to smile back. He was afraid. This place was his home, his birthright. Losing that to be taken as a prisoner to some other land frightened him.

"Take him, for all the use he'll be," Marko conceded, and the ruler seemed to relax a little. Charles tried not to see this as being abandoned as the conversation continued, discussions of tributes of gold and wheat being agreed. Part of him was startled that the man had argued far more fiercely for the mutants than for treasure, given how strong his army already was.

He could only suppose Lehnsherr had no idea what the mutant population here was. Mostly teenagers and a few children with visible mutations. Beggars, prisoners, criminals.  
They weren't an army. They would just be more of a burden. But Charles was going to go with them, and he was going to try to keep them safe, because these people were still his subjects. Even cut off from his powers, Charles was still a prince. 

He tried to hide his fear as the mutants were assembled - most of them glancing around in confusion, underweight and pale from time imprisoned. Several of the older ones had collars like Charles's own. Marko had wanted to ensure that there wasn't an attempt from the mutants to join the Genoshans. The survivors of his suppression huddled together in the courtyard, as the Genoshan party and his stepfather’s officials watched. Charles clung to the balustrade for support, gazing at the group below.

"Is this all?" Lehnsherr asked, looking down in disdain. The blue-skinned boy was stood beside him, his face hidden against Lehnsherr's side. Charles flinched slightly at the number of children there, seeing how some of the older teens were trying to reassure them.  
"All we were able to find," Marko agreed. "I can't guarantee to you there aren't some invisible fre-mutants-" He caught himself, cleared his throat and continued, "-that have escaped our attempts at gathering them together. But this is what we know of. My men are happy to escort you to the limits of our kingdom."

"I suppose that will be enough. Although my generals will be seeking out any that you have hidden from us," Lehnsherr threatened, then reached out to offer his hand to Charles.  
"You should ride with me."  
"I'd rather walk," Charles muttered, pushing himself away from the balustrade and stumbling down the steps. As he approached he could see the mutants looking at him. A little girl ran forwards and grabbed his hand. It took her a moment to place her: Nina, one of the stable hands. He hadn't known she was a mutant.

"Hello Nina," he greeted her fondly, letting her pull him towards the crowd.  
"Where are we going?" she asked.  
"We're going off on an adventure," Charles told her. "We're going to go for a walk, and then we're going to meet some new people. It'll be fun."  
She nodded, then paused, pulling a mouse out of her pocket.  
"Can I take this?"  
"Of course," Charles smiled at her, as the soldiers attempted to marshal the group.

They were ushered through the main gate, and Charles didn't allow himself to glance back. If he did, he wasn't sure he could keep smiling, and he had to smile, because a few of the younger children were walking with him, asking questions, excited to be out in the sun. He wanted them to be happy for as long as they could be. He could give them that at least.

The pace being set was fast, and it hurt the wound in his back, but the children were struggling with it more. The Genoshans, on horseback, were circling around the small group, keeping the soldiers at a distance. Charles did what he could to hurry the children along, knowing that the edge of their lands was at least a day's march away and that the children needed to keep up.

He heard a sudden commotion - turned in time to see one of the soldiers impaled on his own sword. The body fell to the ground, and then lifted, floating in the air in front of them before being thrown away to crumple in a broken heap. He swore under his breath, pushing Nina towards a red-haired boy and making his way towards whatever had happened. One of the Genoshans, the one with red skin, had dismounted his horse, and was leaning over a boy of about twelve who had fallen face first on the ground. 

A blond boy, older and wearing a collar, raced over.  
"Get the fuck away from my brother," he snarled. The demon just laughed and took a step back, and Charles reached the boys as the younger one got to his feet. Charles saw that he was wearing a blindfold. He was shaking, as his brother pulled him into an embrace.  
"What happened?" Lehnsherr walked over. "I saw the soldier grab him-"  
"Nothing," the older boy snarled. "Nothing happened. Fuck off."

"It's fine." Charles wished now more than ever he had his powers, that he could smooth things over. The older boy looked like he was considering punching anyone who got near his brother, including Lehnsherr, and Charles knew that if that happened his hopes of them getting to the Genoshan camp alive would fail. Lehnsherr was willing to murder someone who hurt a prisoner. Charles couldn't imagine what would befall someone who'd fight him. "I... I can handle this-"

Lehnsherr looked down at him, a sneer evident on his face, but after a moment he nodded, returning to his horse and climbing back on. The blue-skinned youth held on tightly to his shoulders. The group continued on, the pace a little slower than before. Charles realised the soldiers didn't seem as upset by the death of one of their own as he expected, and glanced towards the telepath. He couldn't be sure, but he suspected she was to blame.

Charles tried to smile, looking at the young man who was clearly spoiling for a fight.  
"Hello. I'm Charles. You are?"  
"Alex," Alex answered. "This is Scott."  
"What happened there?" he whispered.  
"One of the soldiers shoved Scott for being too slow. And then his sword..." Alex shook his head. "What's going to happen?"  
"I'm not sure," Charles admitted. "But we're together."  
Alex nodded.  
"I'm not letting them take my brother away," He mouthed the words, so that Scott couldn't hear them.  
"That's good," Charles nodded. "We'll be alright." His words sounded hollow, but he had to hope the others would believe him.

His back was aching, each step getting to be more of a challenge, but he couldn't stop. He needed to be strong, for all of them.  
"Let me help?" a familiar voice asked by his ear, and he turned around to see Raven stood there, her hand reaching out for him.  
"Raven-" He stared at her. "You were... you were in the castle."  
"I'm a mutant too. Just because we hid it..."  
"We hid it so that you'd be safe," Charles pleaded with her. "Raven this isn't-"  
"Well I can hardly go back now. They've seen me," Raven argued, her arm slipping around him, taking some of his weight.  
"Let me," Alex muttered, getting to his other side. Between the two of them, Charles found himself being half lifted. He clung on, grateful for the brief rest.

"We should stop here for now," Lehnsherr called out, and the group came to a halt. Raven guided Charles to sit beside a tree, flopping down beside him. A few of the smaller children came to be near him, and he made himself smile to them.  
"Nina said we're going on an adventure?" a little boy with webbed fingers asked.  
"We are," Charles told them, smiling. Lehnsherr approached, passing him a water pouch. Charles took a sip, before passing it to Raven, who handed it to the children. Lehnsherr watched, but made no attempt to take it back until after all the children had had a sip.

He took it, about to walk away, and Charles raised a hand to stop him. He paused, looking at Charles curiously. Charles turned to the children.  
"That was good of him, wasn't it?" Charles had been brought up speaking Genoshan, taught by tutors who had schooled him in Latin and Greek as well. These children didn't have that luxury. He wanted to give them what he could. "We should say thank you."  
A chorus of little voices called out their thanks, and the man smiled slightly. Charles shook his head, reaching out to ruffle Nina's hair.  
"No, these people are Genoshan. They speak a different language from us. So we should try and talk to them if we can. So if you want to say thank you in Genoshan, it's 'Dankon'. If we wanted to say thank you for the food, it would be 'dankon pro la manĝo', like the fruit." Charles was met with blank looks, and realised the children probably hadn't eaten mango. "But water, is 'akvo'. So can one of you tell me how to say thank you for the water?"

The children considered for a little while, before the blind boy, Scott, raised his hand.  
"Dankon por la akvo?"  
"Brilliant," Charles smiled as brightly as he could, Raven's hand rubbing circles on his back. "So, let’s all say it together. Three, two, one-"  
"Dankon por la akvo!" the children chorused around him.  
"Ne dankinde," Lehnsherr answered, smiling at the children almost kindly. "That means you're welcome. My generals and a few of the others speak Westchesterian, but it's good for you to learn what you can." He looked between Charles and Raven. "It's good of you to teach them."

Charles shrugged slightly, looking away and resting his head against Raven's shoulder. He was tired, and afraid, and putting on a brave face for the children was exhausting, but he knew he had to do it.  
"Do you need us to stop here for the night?" Lehnsherr asked. "Your accent is terrible by the way."  
Charles shook his head.  
"I can keep going." He wasn't sure he could, but it wasn't like there was food here and he couldn't have the children going to sleep hungry because he was too weak. Lehnsherr looked at him for a moment, then shook his head, walking back over to where his generals and the youth were waiting. The human soldiers were standing guard around the edge of the camp, but Charles was certain now that they weren't in control of themselves, that the telepath had turned them into puppets. He wondered if the same fate awaited his people. The thought made his skin crawl.

"We're staying here for tonight," Lehnsherr announced, looking at Charles as he said it. As he spoke, the red-skinned man disappeared from sight. Lehnsherr paused, picking out a few of the older prisoners, including Alex. "You accompany Storm here to refill the water supplies."  
"I'll stay with Scott," Charles promised under his breath, and Alex got up, squeezing his brother's hand before leaving. 

Charles entertained the children, teaching them to say hello and goodbye in Genoshan. He could see the telepath looked a little tired, where she was stood, half-leaning against a tree. The other general was walking around. For a second Charles thought he was carrying knives, before he realised the blades came from the man's hands. The youth was still clung to Lehnsherr's side.

Raven poked Charles in the arm, and he looked up as the demonic-looking man approached, holding out two bowls of food. He passed one to Charles, and gave the second to Scott, then turned to the other children.  
"Come. Food."  
The children scrambled to their feet, following them, Raven close at their heels.  
"I'm frightened," Scott whispered.  
"You shouldn't be," Charles lied easily, checking the food - it looked like some kind of vegetable broth. "Your brother will be back soon. It'll be an adventure."

Scott nodded, eating silently, and Charles was glad the boy couldn't see the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes. He ate, watching over his people as best as he could. He was tired, but the food helped a little. The people that had left to fetch water returned, and it was shared amongst everyone. Charles was relieved the children seemed to have learned to say thank you at least. He knew from his own experience that being polite, knowing when to stay in the background, could help. It had saved Raven. It might keep them alive. Not Alex, he was too quick to anger, and not Scott - he was too weak, too vulnerable. But a few of them might survive, and he'd try and equip them as best as he could. 

That night, Raven lay beside him, morphing into wearing a cape which she half wrapped around him. The children had been provided with blankets, the same way they had been given food. Charles laid in his sister's arms, and tried to pretend that they were back home, that Raven had managed to sneak into his bedroom to curl up beside him as he recovered from his injury. Charles didn't look outside the small circle he had gathered close. He couldn't bring himself to care for those that weren't his people, not now when he knew in his heart that caring wouldn't help at all.  
"Goodnight children," he murmured. 

Raven stroked his hair, and if she knew he was crying, she didn't say.

***

Charles was woken by Raven shifting slightly at dawn. He looked around, seeing how the children had ended up cuddling together, their blankets covered with early morning dew. They looked peaceful, and he could only pray to every god that he could think of that they were able to stay happy.

Even though Charles had never been to war, he was sure that makeshift camps never stayed calm for long - certainly not when there were children involved. Sure enough it wasn’t long before some of the children were stretching and whispering among themselves, and within a few minutes a game of tag had broken out.  
"Children," Charles called out, quietly but firmly. "Sit down, you're making a scene."

There were a few pouts and mutters of protest, but the children did sit, and Charles moved into a more comfortable sitting position. The chill of the night hadn't been kind to his back, but he tried to hide any flinches. He couldn't worry them.

The humans were sat in a pile, their bodies slumped together, and the demon and the man with bladed hands were stood nearby. The telepath was lying a short distance away, deep in sleep, her head on Lehnsherr's lap as he stroked her hair, the sun glinting off the metal around his arms. Charles looked around for the youth, and was startled to see he was sleeping half way up a tree. 

"You... look exhausted," came a soft voice, and he turned to find the other general - Storm, that was her name - crouching beside him. "Did you not sleep well?"  
"Well enough," Charles answered. "We'll be ready to move on soon."  
"Not yet." Storm frowned. "No one has had breakfast, the children will be hungry."  
"Thank you," Charles mumbled. He didn't understand why they were acting like they cared.

"You really should ride today if you are injured," Storm told him. "It's not good for your people to see you in pain."  
Charles shook his head stubbornly. He didn't want Lehnsherr near him, and he wanted to stay near his people, to provide comfort if he could.  
"Alright." She sighed, and then dipped a hand into her pocket, pulling out a vial of green liquid. "Drink this after your breakfast. It should help with the pain a little." She walked over to the demon, they spoke briefly, and he disappeared once more, vanishing from sight.  
"Thank you." Charles said as she walked away. Raven wrapped her arms around him.

"Are you… alright?" she whispered, and he nodded, gazing up at the sky.  
"I'm fine. I just... I don't..." He shook his head. He didn't want to tell her the truth - that this might be the last sunrise he saw. That he couldn't understand why Lehnsherr was bothering to keep him alive. That he didn't know how long the children would live. Raven was an intelligent woman, for all her faults. She would be having the same thoughts he was. "I'm just glad you're here."  
"Couldn't leave you to face this on your own," she answered. 

The demon reappeared, his arms full of some kind of yellow fruit. He walked over, handing them out to the children.

One of the boys tried to bite into it, and then spat it out, looking disgusted.  
"Patience," the demon told them, flicking his tail up to remove the top off the fruit, and then peeling back the sides to reveal a paler yellow inside. "This is the food, not the outside."

Charles stared in shock.  
"You... You are giving us bananas?" Bananas were a rare treat even at Marko's table, having to be transported from countries far to the south. The thought of giving it to criminals and beggars was startling enough, even if they hadn't been taken as prisoners. He ate his own, before swallowing the bitter drug Storm had given him.

Lehnsherr walked over, having extracted himself from the sleeping telepath.  
"We use our abilities. People who can control the weather - others that control plants - whatever we wish to have, we can have it in abundance."

Charles nodded slowly, startling when the blue skinned boy suddenly appeared at Lehnsherr's side. He frowned, glancing back at the tree - there was no way that the boy had moved that quickly by any means other than his ability, and if he was a teleporter then Lehnsherr had been lying during the meeting. The boy had his arms around Lehnsherr's waist, and Charles looked away.

Lehnsherr spoke to him softly.  
"Storm tells me you still wish to walk today?"  
Charles nodded tensely, bracing himself to be struck for disobedience.  
"As you wish," Lehnsherr answered. "We should reach the borders of this kingdom slightly after noon. Blink will be waiting there to take us back."

Charles frowned, glancing towards the demon and the blue skinned boy. He didn't want to challenge Lehnsherr, but it didn't make any sense.  
"We have teleporters, but Azazel is unsure of how many people he can carry. Collecting food or blankets is one thing. Losing a life in transport is quite another. Kurt meanwhile exhausts anyone who is with him when he jumps, and isn't so good at targeting yet. I'd rather not have any of you die on the journey."

Charles nodded again, and Lehnsherr moved away, pausing when he saw Nina stood beside his horse. Charles felt sick then - he knew Nina would just be talking, but it would be easy for a paranoid man to assume she was asking the horse to bolt. No one else could ask the horse what it had been told, and if Lehnsherr suspected someone had acted against him - Charles had heard rumours of what had happened to those that had crossed him before. 

He tried to push himself up to stand, gasping slightly. That at least didn't need to be feigned, the movement hurt. Lehnsherr turned back towards him, and Charles stumbled a little, stretching and wincing. He saw Raven move around, going to fetch Nina and guide her away from the horse, whispering to her quietly.  
"Perhaps... perhaps I could ride with you today," he mumbled. Lehnsherr nodded, and offered Charles his hand.

Charles took it, standing beside the other man as their makeshift base was tidied away. He watched the pattern on the vambraces - it moved every so often, and he wondered whether Lehnsherr did it consciously or not.

The telepath stretched and got to her feet, and soon the humans were standing as well, puppets to walk as she wished. She got them to surround the group, approaching her horse.  
"When we get home I am sleeping for a week," she muttered towards Lehnsherr.  
"Once we are home and you have helped the prince with his mind, you may," Lehnsherr answered, guiding Charles onto his horse. Charles allowed it, glancing over at Raven, who was holding onto Scott and Nina's hands. This was all going to be alright. Nina was still safe. Lehnsherr's arms were around him to hold the reins, and Charles looked ahead, scanning the horizon until he saw the blue of the river which marked the end of his stepfather's territory. It wouldn't be long now until they were gone from the only country he had ever known.

The journey was slow, the children easily distracted and tired, and the humans seeming slower now, as though the telepath's exhaustion was infecting them as well. But by noon, they had reached the river.

A woman stepped out from behind a rock to greet them, smiling. She bowed to Lehnsherr.  
"My Lord."  
She closed her eyes, and the earth and sky split behind her, the view changing. Charles watched, enthralled despite himself.

The rest of the group fell silent as the hole in the space around them widened, and then Lehnsherr spurred his horse forwards, and Charles saw the air around them turn purple, humming with sparks - and then through, to brilliant green fields filled with plants. In the distance, there was a vast tangle of tents and buildings, which they were headed towards. There was a fence around it, iron bars strong enough to defend against any weaponry. 

Charles glanced behind him and found that the portal had closed, and that the human soldiers had not followed them through. Lehnsherr was moving faster now, clearly eager to reach their destination.

As they approached, figures appeared in the air above them, winged mutants come to see the victorious war party home. The younger prisoners were laughing and waving, staring up at their welcome. 

When they were almost there, Lehnsherr and the others climbed down from their horses. Charles dropped down, Raven coming to stand beside him immediately. The gates swung open. Charles gasped at what he saw.

He'd heard descriptions of the Genoshan capital before, but that was very different from seeing it with his own eyes. He had been used to small buildings and castles - here there was nothing that looked grand like his previous home. Instead there were rows of tents with different patterns, a multitude of colours and styles all competing for space. He gazed at it in wonder, distracted briefly by amazement. He looked around, trying to understand how all of this could be possible.

The people there were as different as the buildings, clothes that he recognised from different cities, and patterns he had never dreamed of - and then there were the people themselves. He'd seen only a few physical mutations. He knew most children born different didn't survive for long - but here they were everywhere. A child with spikes all over his body peeked out from behind the nearest tent, and a girl whose skin looked to be a copper-like metal waved from further away. 

As the party advanced into the settlement, Charles kept looking around. He forgot even his own predicament, so amazed by what he was seeing. 

He saw a man approach the demon, the two of them gesturing together, and then a winged woman looped through the air before landing at Raven's side, embracing her briefly. Raven frowned for a moment before her expression brightened and she returned the affection easily.

It took Charles a moment to place her. He'd seen her before, but she'd always looked subdued, nervous, her wings wrapped around her as she followed in her human husband's footsteps. She was one of the few mutants that he had ever met - and he had been sure she'd died two years ago when Lehnsherr's troops had laid waste to her husbands' lands, executing the man.  
Charles bowed slightly.  
"Mrs Stryker-"  
"Angel," she corrected him gently.  
"I... I am sorry for what happened to your husband."  
"I'm not," she told him, before squealing in delight when she saw Storm, running to her and embracing her. 

Charles looked away, surprised by just how many people had come to watch them. Part of him was still terrified this was going to lead to a mass execution, but he couldn't be sure. He could feel hope beginning to bloom inside of him, and he crushed it down, because he couldn't afford that weakness now. 

Lehnsherr turned to him, and offered his hand, which Charles took. The telepath wandered over towards them, leaving Angel and Storm to handle the rest of the prisoners. They walked a short distance away from the rest.

Charles couldn't bring himself to smile. He kept thinking of those human soldiers, just puppets. He wasn't quite sure what ‘helping’ his mind entailed, but he would have preferred death to losing himself. Still, he was here to keep his people safe.

The telepath smiled at him.  
"May I?" she asked, and Charles nodded, looking into her eyes because that made it easier. A moment later he could feel her presence inside his mind, pressing against the shields he had managed to cling to. He visualised them, walls like the castle, that had stood strong despite the cracks that had appeared over the last five years. He waited for her to tear them to rubble.

For a short while, she seemed to just examine them, and then he could feel something pressing against his walls - crystals that shimmered in the light.  
_Beautiful_ , he thought, and she giggled.  
_Oh, I like you Sugar_ , she told him, and her skin transformed for a moment to match those crystals. Her diamonds ran through his mind, finding gaps in his walls, adding to them, building higher, and he could feel himself start to panic, afraid she would trap him within his own mind.

Lehnsherr's hand rested on his back, and he focused on that contact, on that sign of the outside world. He had to hold onto it for as long as he could. 

She pulled back, leaving behind her crystals. Charles looked around - he could still see, still hear, still think. He wasn't sure he felt able to test if he could speak, but for now at least he still had his mind, and he could feel himself shaking with relief at that. 

He tried to breathe calmly, and she smiled at him.  
"That should help. We don't want you getting overwhelmed."  
He frowned a little, trying to understand, as Lehnsherr moved to stand in front of him, reaching up towards his throat. 

Charles felt the moment the collar split - a sudden flood of noise and emotions that he had forgotten for so long- only the other telepath's quick actions stopped him from falling to the ground. He could feel so much, he was sure that he was crying, even with what had been done to reinforce his shields. Lehnsherr pulled the collar away, turning it to a pool of liquid which landed on the ground.

Lehnsherr smiled slightly, placing a hand on his shoulder, and looking into his eyes. For the first time in five years, Charles could hear someone else's thoughts, clearly aimed at him.  
_Welcome home._

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Bright Metal on a Sullen Ground](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22548877) by [Lynds](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lynds/pseuds/Lynds)




End file.
